Peter Tomasi

The origin stories of the Batmen from the Dark Multiverse continues with Batman The Drowned. Previously, we have had The Red Death, The Murder Machine, The Dawnbreaker, and The Drowned. With The Merciless, Batman has gained the power of Ares, the God of War.

Generally, I love Peter Tomasi’s writing. And let me just off the bat (ha), that this is a well written issue. I have no problems with the story. It all makes sense. My problem stems from something that they decided to leave out of the issue. In past reviews, I frequently preach that storytellers should show, and not tell. It is something I was taught, and was an idea that stuck with me. Sometimes, alluding to, or hinting at, works. Here, Batman’s internal narration is used to surprise the reader, and it does not work nearly as well as if we had actually seen the scene describe. (more…)